Approach for Prioritizing Network Alerts

1. A computer-implemented method for identifying a crisis event arising within a first portion of an electricity distribution network, the method comprising: receiving a set of status transmissions, wherein each status transmission in the set of status transmissions is generated by a different node residing within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; computing a different heat value for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions, wherein a first heat value computed for a first status transmission reflects one or more operating conditions associated with a first node that generated the first status transmission; computing a total heat value for the first portion of the electricity distribution network by aggregating the heat values computed for the set of status transmissions; comparing the total heat value to a threshold value; determining that the total heat value exceeds the threshold value; and identifying a crisis event arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising: notifying an operator of the electricity distribution network that a crisis event is arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; prioritizing the status transmissions in the set of status transmissions based on the heat value computed for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions; and conveying the prioritized status transmissions to the operator of the electricity distribution network.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein computing the first heat value comprises multiplying a first urgency value associated with the first status transmission with a first importance value associated with the first status transmission.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising determining the first urgency value based on the type of hardware associated with the first node.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 3 , further comprising determining the first importance value based on the identity of a customer associated with the first node.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising computing the first heat value based on an amount of time elapsed since the first node generated the first status transmission.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , further comprising computing the threshold value dynamically based on averaging total heat values computed periodically for the first portion of the electricity distribution network.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more operating conditions associated with the first node includes a set of hardware malfunctions and/or software malfunctions.

9. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing program instruction that, when executed by a processing unit, cause the processing unit to identify a crisis event arising within a first portion of an electricity distribution network by performing the steps of: receiving a set of status transmissions, wherein each status transmission in the set of status transmissions is generated by a different node residing within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; computing a different heat value for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions, wherein a first heat value computed for a first status transmission reflects one or more operating conditions associated with a first node that generated the first status transmission; computing a total heat value for the first portion of the electricity distribution network by aggregating the heat values computed for the set of status transmissions; comparing the total heat value to a threshold value; determining that the total heat value exceeds the threshold value; and identifying a crisis event arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising the steps of: notifying an operator of the electricity distribution network that a crisis event is arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; prioritizing the status transmissions in the set of status transmissions based on the heat value computed for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions; and conveying the prioritized status transmissions to the operator of the electricity distribution network.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the step of computing the first heat value comprises multiplying a first urgency value associated with the first status transmission with a first importance value associated with the first status transmission.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the step of determining the first urgency value based on the type of hardware associated with the first node.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , further comprising the step of determining the first importance value based on the identity of a customer associated with the first node.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising the step of computing the first heat value based on an amount of time elapsed since the first node generated the first status transmission.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising the step of computing the threshold value dynamically based on averaging total heat values computed periodically for the first portion of the electricity distribution network.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the one or more operating conditions associated with the first node includes a set of hardware malfunctions and/or software malfunctions.

17. A computing device configured to identify a crisis event arising within a first portion of an electricity distribution network, comprising: a processing unit configured to: receive a set of status transmissions, wherein each status transmission in the set of status transmissions is generated by a different node residing within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; compute a different heat value for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions, wherein a first heat value computed for a first status transmission reflects one or more operating conditions associated with a first node that generated the first status transmission; compute a total heat value for the first portion of the electricity distribution network by aggregating the heat values computed for the set of status transmissions; compare the total heat value to a threshold value; determine that the total heat value exceeds the threshold value; identify a crisis event arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; notify an operator of the electricity distribution network that a crisis event is arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; prioritize the status transmissions in the set of status transmissions based on the heat value computed for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions; and convey the prioritized status transmissions to the operator of the electricity distribution network.

18. The computing device of claim 17 , further comprising: a memory coupled to the processing unit and storing program instructions that, when executed by the processing unit, cause the processing unit to: receive the set of status transmissions; compute the different heat value for each status transmission in the set of status transmissions; compute the total heat value for the first portion of the electricity distribution network; compare the total heat value to the threshold value; determine that the total heat value exceeds the threshold value; identify the crisis event arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; notify the operator of the electricity distribution network that a crisis event is arising within the first portion of the electricity distribution network; prioritize the status transmissions in the set of status transmissions; and convey the prioritized status transmissions to the operator of the electricity distribution network.

19. The computing device of claim 17 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: compute the first heat value by multiplying a first urgency value associated with the first status transmission with a first importance value associated with the first status transmission; determine the first urgency value based on the type of hardware associated with the first node; and determine the first importance value based on the identity of a customer associated with the first node.

20. The computing device of claim 17 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to: compute the first heat value based on an amount of time elapsed since the first node generated the first status transmission; and compute the threshold value dynamically based on averaging total heat values computed periodically for the first portion of the electricity distribution network.